Section 1019 of H.R. 2601 (authorizing appropriations for the Department of State) calls for a report describing the possibility of providing consular and visa services at the United States Office Pristina, Kosovo to the residents of Kosova (emphasis added).

The Franks Amendment removes Section 1019 from the bill for the following reasons:

1. The name of the province, in international use and official U.S. use, is "Kosovo" - not "Kosova".  The term "Kosova" is a one-ethnicity based pronunciation of the name of the province.  "Kosovo" is a term in international use and it should be used as such in public and official correspondence, as is the United States' official policy.  It would be highly prejudicial for the U.S. Congress to refer to Kosovo as "Kosova", by which it would recognize and imply that the province is only Albanian, and would ignore the minority populations living there.  Albanians would have the same objection to the U.S. Congress referring to Kosovo as Kosovo-Metohija.

2. In the hour of future negotiations between Belgrade, Pristina, and the international community on the status of Kosovo, Congressional action of this nature will be perceived as one-sided and prejudicial.  Further, giving authority to the Secretary of State to empower the U.S. Mission in Pristina to render U.S. visas would be a dangerous precedent to set because the United States cannot render visas without the consent of the host country in accordance with the Vienna Convention.  Therefore, conducting such a "report" is to ignore Serbia's role entirely and sends the wrong message.

3. The U.S. Consulate in Montenegro does not issue visas, why should the "office" in Kosovo?

4. Notwithstanding the political issue, the U.S. State Department has very practical concerns.  Essentially, the U.S. Mission in Pristina does not have the facilities to do this.  It has repeatedly indicated that there is a very real security issue (i.e. bringing people through the compound to do visa/consular services without the proper facilities or security apparatus to protect everyone).

5. Residents of Kosovo are currently able to obtain U.S. visas by either going to the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia (an approximate two-hour bus ride) or in Belgrade, Serbia.  Residents around the world, for example in China, Russia, and India, often have to travel hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to obtain a visa.  The current situation in Kosovo is not prohibitive, and in light of the serious diplomatic issues present, a report is not necessary at this time and sends an improper message.

In a controversial and sensitive environment, this Congressional action is not a diplomatic or prudent one at this time.   Before we offer de facto independence and embassy rights to the people of Kosovo, we should let the status talks proceed as agreed to by the entire international community.

Please support the Franks Amendment.

Most Sincerely,

Trent Franks

SEC. 1019. PROVISION OF CONSULAR AND VISA SERVICES IN PRISTINA, KOSOVA.

(a) Report- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the possibility of providing consular and visa services at the United States Office Pristina, Kosovo (USOP) to residents of Kosova.

(b) Contents- The report required under subsection (a) shall contain the following information:

     (1) The reasons why consular and visa services are not currently offered at the USOP, even though the Office has been in operation for more than five years.

     (2) Plans for providing consular and visa services at the USOP, including conditions required before such services would be provided and the planned timing for providing such services.

     (3) An explanation of why consular and visa services will not be offered at the USOP by January 1, 2007, if such services are not planned to be offered by such date.

     (4) The number of residents of Kosova who apply for their visas outside of Kosova for each calendar year from 2000-2005.